GARDEN & ORCHARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 3429, 2 December 1919, Page 9

GARDEN & ORCHARD.

BY'D. Tannock.

WORK FOR THE WEEK

THE GREENHOUSE AND NUBSEBY. . Cyclamen should be placed on a shell in the greenhouse or out in a fra™s an< J gradually ripened ofiy but water should not be withheld altogether until the foliage shows signs of withering. Shift the boxes of seedling canterbury bells, sweet william, etc., out into the cool greenhouse, and expose to light except on very bright days to prevent the seedlings from becoming drawn and spindly. Watch the tuberous begonias for signs of mite, and, if it appears, spray with nicoticide.

THE SLOWER GARDEN. ,Tho bedding out should be nearly complete now, the sub-tropical plants and tuberous begonias being left to the last. Watch the roses for the first signs of mildew and green fly, continue to disbud and keep the surface soil stirred with the hoe. Tie in ramblers and get the rose garden into firstclass order for the rose season. Keep herbaceous plants staked and tied. Keep the rock garden weeded.and the surface soil (where it is to be seen) forked up with the little hand fork.

THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. The observant reader of these notes will .see that I recommend the sowing and planting of vegetables almost the whole year round, and the most successful grower in a small garden is the one who can maintain an unbroken supply for the whole 12 months. This is possiblo by growing a 3argß variety, each suitable for a particular 'season, by making regular small sowings 'and plantings from time to time, by forcing .a few early kinds in heated frames or greenhouses, and by preserving the surplus when thsre is one. The most successful market gardener is the one who produces crops out of season, either late in the winter or early in the spring and summer. It is too late to consider the forcing .of vegetables, but not too late to arrange a succession and to provide considerable variety. There are people who consider vegetables are cabbages and potatoes, but most people seem to appreciate variety both in salads and cooked kinds. It should not be impossible for a person with a small garden to grow peas, broad beans, french beans, butter beans, scarlet runners, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, savoys, kale, broccoli, silver beet, spinach, onions, leeks, shallots, potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, carrots, beetroot, salsafy, turnips, parsnips, sea kale, asparagus, lettuce, radish, mustard and cress, chicory, vegetable marrows, and, with a glass house or frame, tomatoes and •cucumbers. With such a list of course it would not be possible or desirable to grow large quantities of one kind, and where quantity rather than quality is the main feature, then those who produced the greatest amount of food should be grown, and that would limit the list to potatoes, cabbage, peas, runner beans, and broad Tss'ans, parsnips, carrots, turnips, and lettuce.

• I have heard frequent complaints about vegetable seeds failing to germinate, and this may be partly due to the cold, wet spring, and also to the quality of the seed; but I am inclined to think it is chiefly due to the cold and _ wet. There is really no advantage in. sowing seeds too- soon or In putting out plants which have not been properly hardened off. The former, if they germinate, become stunted in their infancy, and never grow into proper plants, and the latter become the prey of slugs and other pests, and often perish altogether. It is necessary to get a few seeds in early to get early supplies, but these must be special varieties, which mature quickly, and the greatest care has to be taken in selecting the position for them and preparing the soil.

The early varieties must be put in a position sheltered • from the oolcl south-west winds, one sloping towards the sun and which is well drained. There should also be an abundant supply of plant food available, so that the plants will have no difficulty in obtaining all they require, and any fertiliser applied should be in the form cf a powder, rather than liquid manure, for the soil is usually wet enough in the early spring. Those who have failed with their first sowings' should' sow again, and though,it may be a little late for parsnips, if they are dug in the winter (as they should be),' they will make quite respectable roots yet. Sow' carrots, turnips, French and butter beans, silver beet, and lettuce, and make further small plantings of cabbage and cauliflower. Brussels sprouts can still be planted. - Potatoes are growing rapidly, and it is how time to give the first spraying with Bordeaux mixture.' It does not involve much trouble, _ and it is a wise precaution. Continue to thin all crops as they require it. and I always recommend a preliminary thinning as soon as the seedlings are large enough to handle, and another thinning later on when we are able to determine which are going to be the best and most desirable plants. Keep both the scnffle hoe and_ 'the draw hoe busy whenever the soil is in a suitable condition —the former to cut young seedling weeds and to keep the surface soil open, and the latter to draw up the soil round all plants which require earthing up, to steady Jthem during windyweather. Crops which have gone off colour and show a tendency to become stunted can bo encouraged by a light dressing of sulphate of ammonia or nitrate of soda. This can be sown alongside the crops and worker? in with the scuffle hoe, or if the soil is dry it can be dissolved in water and applied as a liquid manure. In a dry condition they are applied at the rate of half an ounce to an ounce to the square yard, and as a liquid the same quantity dissolved in a gallon of water should be used. SPItAi"US T (i JSJ.ATEHIAI.S. There are quite a lot of excellent spraying materials oft. the market, and when small quantities are required it is better and cheaper to obtain some of these preparations, but many prefer to make their own Bordeaux and lime sulphur, and these are the sprays most suitable for cheeking the spread of fungoid pests in the vegetable and fruit garden. . Solf-boilcd lime and sulphur: Flowers of sulphur 101 b, quicklime 151 b, water 50 gallons. Place the lime in a wooden barrel and pour two to three gallons of boiling water over it. Add the sulphur immediately, together with three gallons of hot Water; then cover the barrel with a cloth and the mixture will boil by the slaking

of the lime fox 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. When the boißncr ceases add enough water to make 50 gallons. Strain through a sieve or a piece of muslin to take out the particles of lime, but work all the sulphur through. This is an excellent wash for mildew, and should not injure tho foliage of fruit trees. Bordeaux mixture (summer formula): 41b sulphate of capper, 41b quicklime, and 40 gallons of water. Dissolve the copper sulphate by placing it in a piece of scrim and suspending it in 20 gallons of water. Slake the lime with a little water, and when slaked make up to 20 gallons. Strain the milk of lime into a barrel containing the sulphate of copper, thoroughly stirring while pouring it in. It is best to use wooden vessels when making this wash, as it deteriorates when kept, it should. be applied at once.

ANSWERS TO. CORRESPONDENTS.

J. B. —Freesias shoiud be placed in the greenhouse, a frame, or a warm, sheltered position to complete their ripening process. Water caretuiiy until the foliage shows signs of .r.petnng, then keep dry and expose to full sunshine to bako the soil. Don't remove them from the soil until it is time to pot up again. Seeds sown as soon as ripe will soon germinate and grow into flowering bulbs in a verv shor? time. J. S., Waimate.—The unfavourable weather conditions have more to do with the unsatisfactory conditions of your plums than anything else. Ad you can do is to provide good drainage and shelter from the cold winds.

J. 8., Invercargill.—Grass grubs are most destructive when they get into the strawberry beds. The best way is to bare iallovv for a year and work in a good dressing of when preparing the groomd for planting-. Soot is a useful manure, but it won't kill the grubs. "Nuggets."—The brown spots on your pear and gooseberry leaves are caused by a fungus, and spraying with kerosene emulsion will not be any use. Spray with either self-boiled lime and sulphur or summer Bordeaux.

"Amateur." —If other fuchsia and geranium plants grown under similar conditions are all right, I would root the affected ones out and burn them. Spray your apricot for shot-hole fungus with summer Bordeaux or ammoniacal carbonate of copper. Give your hydrange a watering with liquid manure once a week, and,-if ordinary liquid manure is not available, dissolve s oz of sulphate of ammonia in a gallon of water. This quantity would do for several applications. Sow ranunculus and anemone seed as soon as it is ripe. Four srood ferns for pots are Asplenium luoidum, Pteris tremula, Asplenium bulbiferum, and Scolopendrum vulgare.